In a significant push to bridge Pakistan’s widening technology gap, TallyMarks Consulting (TMC) hosted an insightful session titled “AI Now Simplified for SMEs” at the Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex, drawing a diverse audience of business owners, corporate leaders, and academic professionals.
The event focused on demystifying artificial intelligence for small and medium-sized enterprises, a sector often left behind in the country’s digital transformation journey. Participants were introduced to practical ways of integrating AI into everyday business operations, with organisers emphasizing that the real competition lies not in AI itself but in businesses that effectively leverage it.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr Syed Sohail H Naqvi, Director EdTech at TMC and Chairman of Knowledge Streams, described AI adoption as essential for national competitiveness. He stressed that SMEs must move quickly to integrate emerging technologies or risk falling behind in an increasingly digital economy.
Echoing similar concerns, Tanveer Ahmad Sheikh, Senior Vice President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, highlighted the role of AI in addressing real-world business challenges such as rising operational costs, productivity gaps, and intense market competition.
A key highlight of the programme was a practical roadmap presented by Anas Wahab, who outlined actionable steps for immediate AI adoption. The session moved beyond theory, offering hands-on training led by Shahmeer Maqbool and co-trainer Ammaz Ahmad. Participants engaged in live demonstrations of widely accessible tools, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Canva AI, and Google Vids.
The training placed strong emphasis on prompt engineering, enabling attendees to craft precise instructions for generating high-quality outputs in areas such as marketing, customer support, business proposals, and reporting. Advanced applications demonstrated during the session included AI-powered agents, recruitment automation, invoice processing, and even legal drafting.
Organisers reinforced the accessibility of AI with a simple message: even basic digital skills can serve as a starting point. SMEs were encouraged to experiment with free tools, automate routine tasks, and explore ways to reduce operational costs while enhancing efficiency.
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The session concluded with a clear and practical action plan, urging SMEs to adopt AI not as a replacement for human talent but as a tool to enhance productivity, responsiveness, and long-term competitiveness in a rapidly evolving business landscape.
